A fun holiday for school kids only if you can convince your teachers! 🙂 I discovered in the Washington Post article about fun and silly holidays . . . March 6 – No Homework Day!
At this point in the school year, you may be tired of homework. Share this holiday with your teachers, and they may give you a one-day breakto play soccer with friends or finish the book you started on Read Across America Day, March 2. (We also learned of a No Homework Day in May, but don’t count on getting two of these.) 🙂 I’ll try it on my Spanish teacher! 🙂
March 6 – No Homework Day!
¡Pura Vida!
Meet the Tayra
Tayra in Costa Rica
And to continue my usual emphasis on nature and wildlife, here’s a link to another Tico Times Wildlife Article “Meet the Tayra” which is Costa Rica’s version of a tropical weasel. The linked article has more of the Guanacaste Camera Trap Videos from which the above pix came.
Walking was as natural as breathing. Everything we did included walking paths! As a child, walking became a natural part of daily life but somehow was never something the family photographed. 🙂 Thank goodness for that street photographer that gave us several shots like this one over those early years in Fort Smith!
Today, February 8, 2021, is the first time students will be in the physical school buildings in almost a year, having closed last March because of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Primary School – Los Angeles
Some schools will offer the option of a “hybrid plan” mixing in-person with online school, fewer days in-person. And the many students who have no internet access for online school will be prioritized for in-person classes and parents who are not comfortable with in-person school for their kids can continue online schooling.
Those in the physical school buildings must wear masks and desks will be 1.8 meters apart, with hand-washing and other precautions in place. Read more details in theEnglish-language Tico Times article. Or readers here in Costa Rica can get questions answered on the Spanish language Education Ministry’s Coronavirus Website.
High School – Colegio Liceo
All photos are my older file photos from earlier years. The feature photo as header of page is of Escuela Central, the largest and main primary school, K-6. The kids in costumes are at Los Angeles Primary School and the teens at bottom are at Colegio Liceo, the university-prep public high school.
This past school year will have a major impact on several generations of students around the world with so many poorer students unable to participate in online education. Much work and prayer needs to go into helping these students around the world to “catch up” or fit in with the more affluent. And Costa Rica will do it well, always being a leader in education.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
So what does a community do with an old high school building when it is replaced? This old high school in Atenas, Costa Rica was replaced many years ago but is still educating some of the same people as an adult education university extension school. We now have two public high schools, one a college-prep high school (Colegio Liceo) and the other a technical high school that prepares one for a job at graduation (Colegio Técnico).
The old high school building was recently repainted and I think looks nice sitting across from Central Park or on opposite corner from the main Catholic Church. It houses UNED, UNIVERSIDAD ESTATAL A DISTANCIA or “Distance University” with 45 locations across Costa Rica (see map below)!
Already one of the best educated countries in the world with free education through college, Costa Rica continues to educate its adults and make life better for everyone here! Just one more thing that makes it such an amazing place! 🙂
Locations of UNED across Costa Rica! Continuing Adult Education!
“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.” –Jiddu Krishnamurti
¡Pura Vida!
FUN NOTES ABOUT THE PHOTO: At the corner waiting to safely cross the street is a mother with baby in stroller and primary school child in tow – a common – typical scene of this family-oriented community where almost all children walk to and from school and the younger ones with a parent.
Behind the little family is one of several “street sweepers” in Atenas who literally sweeps the streets with a push broom and picks up with a dustpan. He also empties the little street trash bins like the one beside him in the photo above. Or see my old 2015 Street Sweeper Post on this blog. 🙂
And lastly at this central point in Atenas, corner of Avenida 0 and Calle 0 you can see how much traffic there is in the middle of the day! Of course there is more at times, but generally this is a very tranquil town with more walkers than car drivers and friendly at that! Such a contrast to the big city noise and traffic of San Jose & Alajuela or the rude, tourist-congested beach towns! A peaceful little coffee farming town in the central valley of Costa Rica with the slogan of “Best weather in the world!” “Mejor clima del mundo!” Why live anywhere else? 🙂
Yep! School year starts in February after an almost two month summer vacation. Both the public primary school and the high school started today, 6 February and while walking to town early this morning it was obvious! The majority of students walk to school with nearly all primary school kids walked by their mother or a grandmother. Rural kids living outside of Central Atenas ride a bus to school and a very few kids have parents with cars that drive them to school. But even with fewer cars, it’s a massive traffic jam. Click image to enlarge.
Mothers walk children to school.
Uniforms & Backpacks
Traffic Congestion – Blue shirts at left are for high school
The children were the main part of the parade this year with respect to the teens. They are taught that this is a historical event and thus most are dressed in historical clothing for the parade. And of course kids are cute and make good photos, so enjoy the slide show of kids in the parade and later will be a post of the audience which includes a lot more kids.
Around noon every day you see some of the elementary school children eating their lunch with their mothers in the park across the street from the school. Some grade levels only go a half day, morning or afternoon, meaning they eat lunch before or after school. But all ages of children are very close to their mothers making lunch with Mom very natural. Almuerzo con la madre.
Su Espacio where I study Spanish 3rd location is in home of owners Atenas, Costa Rica
Home of David & Corinna & location of language classes Near public library & police station downtown Atenas, Costa Rica
It was difficult for them to pay rent for a house in the country and a storefront in town plus riding bus to town daily, so by moving to town to a large-enough house they can live and work in the same location with just one rent. They have one room as a classroom and could have additional classes at same time in their living room and on their covered terrace, so very practical.
El Pingüinois a landmark on my side of town. It is a very small corner grocery store called pulpería or mini-super It looks like a store in front but it is also their home, living in the back. Atenas, Costa Rica
How cool is it to have a little corner store called “The Penguin” in a tropical climate country where no native has ever seen a penguin? And it is the front part of their house! Or attached to their house. Plus it is 2 blocks from one public high school/middle school and 1.5 blocks from one public elementary school. Needless to say they have more student customers than anyone, selling lots of cold drinks an snack food! But they are better stocked for real food than another similar home store closer to me, though I still prefer the supermercado! There are many of these little corner stores all over town and probably many are in homes. No strict zoning codes or laws here! 🙂 Atenas is a really cool place to live!
El Pingüino Store entrance on corner. White addition on right is a rental apartment. The owner’s home is also attached to the left, seen in next photo. Also notice a mother walking daughter home from primary school. Atenas, Costa Rica
El Pingüino Owner’s home is light green, attached to left behind white metal fence. These boys are at a school with a “no uniform day” today. Rare! Or out of school, especially the boy in shorts! No shorts in school! Atenas, Costa Rica
Holiday Inn Downtown San Jose
My room is on the 16th floor, with only
the 17th floor Dining Room above me.
San Joe, Costa Rica
I mainly look south with fewer tall buildings, but parts of sunrise/sunset.
San Joe, Costa Rica
Temple of Music in Morazan Park across the street
San Joe, Costa Rica
“Kissing Statue”
Is another thing Morazan Park is known for.
San Joe, Costa Rica
1890 Escuelas Graduadas, famous metal school building
San Joe, Costa Rica
1890 Escuelas Graduadas, famous metal school building San Joe, Costa Rica
This is one block from hotel and my check-in desk clerk Javier
went to school here and was proud that I photographed it.
This metal school building of course reminded me of the metal church building in Grecia, Costa Rica I shared it back in 2015. See a photo of that equally unusual church building in my gallery.
Museum of Modern Art??
Well, that was one name and there was some,
but it was mostly a children’s art museum
with a few adult works in one of 4 galleries.
Disappointing.
San Jose, Costa Rica
I did like this adult installation, for
the color in Museum of Modern Art.
San Jose, Costa Rica
In the first gallery, there was a lot of clothing designed in CR, some book covers designed here, and a few other adult-made installations like the umbrellas above. The other three galleries were all work of school children interpreting life on other planets. Those galleries probably rotate or change and I suspect that some of the schools of design here display their work from time to time. So I will check their website before I go again to see what I’m getting into!
Children Play in Water Fountain
Plaza of Culture
San Jose, Costa Rica
NOTE: After I made this image, a security guard came up to me and said
something like, “I’m sorry sir but we do not allow making photos of
children here. Please stop.” I stopped and was amazed! Interesting!
The security of children here is very important!
Feeding Pigeons
Is an activity in every park in Costa Rica, by all ages.
San Jose, Costa Rica
The National Theater or Teatro Nacional
Beside the Plaza of Culture
San Jose, Costa Rica
Flutist Statue
at the National Theater
San Jose, Costa Rica
Clowns Sell Face-painting
Plaza of Culture
San Jose, Costa Rica
Indigenous People Music
On sidewalk across from Plaza of Culture
San Jose, Costa Rica
And You Can Buy CD of the Indigenous MusicOn sidewalk across from Plaza of Culture San Jose, Costa Rica
Big city life is always colorful and interesting anywhere in the world. No exception here!
“Happy Hour”
By Holiday Inn in a 15th floor corner room watching the sunset.
Lots of free snack food and drinks was my dinner after a big lunch!
And that building above is Banco Nacional, my Costa Rica bank.
San Jose, Costa Rica
And I made loads of photos of interesting old buildings on the streets I walked today. I may eventually add them to my San Jose or other photo gallery at Charlie Doggett’s COSTA RICA. This city has lots of interesting things to photograph! Tomorrow I start with old historic churches and then see what happens after that. This is almost as much fun as the real jungles, though I like their animals better! 🙂
